Trying to get True Bloodexecutive producer Alan Ball and the cast of the HBO series to give away anything about the upcoming fourth season is not easy. Oh, but how they love to tease! During Saturday's PaleyFest panel, we heard all about fairies, demon babies, amnesia (poor Eric!) and why — brace yourselves — Sookie and Bill are doomed for the time being.Bill's not getting back into Sookie's, er, good graces any time soon. It's going to take a long while for her to get past Eric's big revelation in last seaon's finale: Bill (Stephen Moyer) had been sent for Sookie by Queen Sophie-Anne (Evan Rachel Wood) from the very beginning. (Bill even let Sookie get beaten to a pulp in the first episode just so she'd have to drink his blood and ensure a connection!) "The betrayal is so deep that I don't think she sees a way back from that," Ball says. "That's why we need 17 seasons!"True Blood makes way for Eric's maker: Godric returns!Speaking of Bill, we last saw him and the Queen, midair, ready to fight. They're weren't alone! Yes, Sookie can uninvite him from her home if she wants — Bill's still not done protecting her. "There is a bite-off [between Bill and the Queen]. Things happen," Ball says. "It's not just the two of them involved."

The entire cast of HBO's vamp-tastic True Blood held court on the second night of PaleyFest at Beverly Hills' Saban Theatre on Saturday night. Yes,16 of them, make that 17 if series creator Alan Ball is included.
Nothing earth-shattering was revealed during the session, unless you consider the incessant screams -- the longest and loudest out of all the cast members -- for tall Swede Alexander Skarsgard (Eric) during panel introductions breaking news. (Keep your eyes peeled for exclusive video interviews from the carpet with the cast and creator of True Blood.)
After a sizzle reel of the most memorable scenes from the first three seasons played, a moment from Season 4 whetted the appetite of the blood-hungry crowd. [minor spoiler alert!] The brief scene featured lovebirds Hoyt and Jessica with Pam in front of Fangtasia, as they fend off some protesters. Things get hairy, to say the least.
The topic of True Blood's large ensemble cast was frequently touched upon. New series regular Joe Manganiello (the werewolf Alcide) shared that he was itching to work with Chris Bauer (Andy) and Sam Trammell (Sam), while Kevin Alejandro (Jesus, revealed to be a witch; wiccans play a role, Ball said, adding that "they are not the bringers of evil") joked to loud laughter: "I guess Alex so I can see why everyone screams so much."

The 500 or so fans who packed the Paley Center’s tribute to True Blood on Saturday in Los Angeles were treated to a fourth season sneak peek in which Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll), Hoyt (Jim Parrack) and Pam (Kristin Bauer) encounter a protest by anti-vamp religious nuts outside Fangtasia. Hoyt defends his love for his undead date with words and fists and Pam, per usual, steals the scene with a couple of wicked quips about “post-Russell Edgington society.”

But other than the clip, Blood creator Alan Ball and the drama’s 16 cast members were loathe to share spoilers with the crowd, including details on the show’s main love quadrangle between Bill (Stephen Moyer), Sookie (Anna Paquin), Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and Alcide (Joe Manganiello). When pressed to divulge the overarching theme of the fourth year, Ball put on his deep serious voice and answered, “the duality of existence.” “I come up with a stock answer each season although we don’t really think in terms of themes,” Ball continued. “The theme is true blood, more true blood. We just want to have this fantastic, escapism, emotional, sexy, romantic, terrifying journey with them because that’s really fun.”

When True Blood returns to HBO this summer to showcase a new menagerie of supernaturals (Blood boss Alan Ball offhandedly mentions "witches, mediums, ghosts and possessions"), all those new kids are going to have to work overtime to distract us from the real focus of this show: Alexander Skarsgård's notorious and deadly Eric Northman.

Our favorite Viking vampire suffers from amnesia for a large portion of the season—as Skarsgård puts it, "He messed with the wrong people,"—and because he loses that crucial matchup, he also loses his memory and therefore his entire personality.

At the 28th Annual William S. Paley Television Festival in Beverly Hills, Skarsgård told assembled fans, "This powerful character is just gone—it's not what we've built up over the past three years; it is just gone. And it's a lot of fun for me because it's the polar opposite of who Eric really is…He is lost. He doesn't know how he is, he knows he's a vampire, but he slowly finds out stuff, like, 'Did I do that? I killed those people? Why would I do that? Oh. Really?' It's not easy to hear—and not knowing who he can trust, who's a friend or an enemy. He's very vulnerable."